How to Make a Ladybug Tire Planter

One way to recycle old tires is to turn them into decorative garden planters. Tires that are dirty or that have a black wall that do not match your garden can be painted with a ladybug decoration. Preparing the tire for planting and placing it in the proper spot before you plant anything in it will allow you to paint it more easily and deal with weeds in the future.

Things You'll Need

Landscape fabric

Bucket

Soapy water

Scrub brush

Utility knife

Newspapers

Red spray paint

Black acrylic paint

3 inch paintbrush

1 inch paintbrush

White acrylic paint

Potting soil

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Lay a piece of landscape fabric over the place where you want to place your ladybug tire planter. This will keep grass and weeds from growing along the edge of the planter.

Fill a bucket with warm soapy water and scrub the outside of the tire with a scrub brush. Rinse the tire with a garden hose and let it air dry.

Lay some newspapers down on a flat surface and place the tire on top of them. Use a utility knife to cut off the upper wall of the tire, leaving a more open area for planting. Discard the upper wall.

Shake a can of red spray paint. Hold it 8 inches from the surface of the tire, then press the button. Apply the spray paint in even strokes until the outside of the tire is red. The bottom wall and inside of the tire can remain unpainted because they will not be seen.

Let the spray paint dry as instructed on the can. Dip a 3 inch paintbrush into the black acrylic paint and paint a large circle onto the side of the tire for the head of the ladybug. The circles should reach the top and bottom of the side.

Switch to the 1 inch paintbrush. Paint one thin line coming out of the top left of the head and drooping down, and one on the right. These are the antennae. Paint small, variably sized black circles around the rest of the tire side for the ladybug's spots. Rinse the brush in water and let the black paint dry as instructed on the package.

Dip the 1 inch paintbrush into the white paint. Paint two eyes onto the ladybug's head. Add a nose or mouth if desired.